The Khamaj Kaleidoscope

“It is unbearable! It is beauty beyond description! With shuddha notes throughout and then playing games with me by using Komal Nishad in the descent!”

- Vasudev Murthy ,TheTanpura

A song titled after this Raag was the beginning of my tryst with the singing and music of Shafqat Amanat Ali. Adapted from a beautiful traditional Patiala Gharana bandish the song inspired a whole blog post as it is very special to me. Since I have already done an entire post on the song, I will not include any of Shafqat’s versions in this post. Here is his elder brother, Asad, singing the bandish, instead.

But this rendition by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, is close to my heart and  you very likely will be mind- blown after hearing it , as I am, each time, I do

Khamaj is a very sweet, light raga, used extensively in lighter forms of Hindustani classical music like thumris ,dadras and the seasonal chaitis and horis. It has also captured the imagination of music composers in movies. Dhrupad and long khayals are rare in this raag.

Here is Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty of the Patiala Gharana performing a khayal in the raag

 “He sang Shuddha Nishad, Shadaj, Shuddha Gandhar, Shuddha Madhyam, Pancham, Shuddha Dhaivat, Shuddha Nishad and Shadaj. He stopped dramatically. Then he continued in a whisper, Shadaj, extending it long and soft. Then with a jerk, he crept down, singing Komal Nishad, like the bending branch of a Mango tree! He approached the note and seemed to study it from all angles – literally! He bent this way and that, stood up and looked downwards, fingers still on the harmonium. He looked sideways and then forward. He looked backwards and lowered his voice! He was possessed by the magic of the Nishads, traversing all the millions of ways in which they could be reached”
[1]

An evening time raga, it is the representative Raag of the Thaat by the same name under the Bhatkande system of classification of Hindustani Music

The beauty of the Raag indeed lies in the Komal Nishaad in the descent, which adds a pensive beauty to the Raag. Khamaj is Shadav sampoorna, Re is omitted in the ascent which utilizes a Shuddh Nishaad. A weak Dha in also ascent adds to its beauty. It is also recommended that Pa in its ascent be used less and that brings together the Ma and Dha in a joyous combination.

Vaadi - Ga

Samvaadi - Ni

Aaroh- S G M P D N S

Avroh  -S n D P M G R S

The nuances of the Raag are explained here :

Khamaj is commonly used for lighter forms like ghazals and bhajans as well.

M.S. Subbalakshmi with daughter Radha Vishwananth brings out the beauty of Khamaj in this bhajan

Muraliya ab kahe guman bhari  :

The Ghazal King Mehdi Hassan takes ghazal into the Khamaj zone with his very popular- “mohabbat karne waale kam na honge” in this vintage video

Khamaj Thumris

Thumris are a light semi classical form of Hindustani music, the shorter musical presentations  based on ragas, as compared to the Khayal which is a more elaborate presentation that slowly unfolds. The words usually talk of love and a reference to the Lord Krishna is a common feature. Thumris are commonly sung in Pilu, Bhairavi, Pahadi and of course Khamaj.

This blog talks in detail about one interesting aspect of thumris- how its singing flitted from gender to gender due to changing social norms and audience tastes. 

There’s a treasure trove of Thumris in Khamaj out there and one of the major reasons for the delay in posting this one has been. Choosing which ones to post and which ones to leave out has been the most difficult tasks. I classify them here as sung by male& female singers and you can decide which gender scores.

The ladies, first…

• Balam chedo mat jao, sings MissIndubala in this short clip. Indubala was a renowed artist who also was the official court musician of the King of Mysore

• Siddheshwari Devi- one of the greatest names in light Hindustani singing says Jao balam nahi bolun  

• And Roshnara Begum continues the sentiment with a  Jaotose na bolun

• Begum Akhtar  sings a Dadra

• Iqbal Bano,well known for ghazals, also sang some beautiful thumris like this one– kahe sataye mohe saawariya

• Prabha Atre , the  swarayogini with the very popular Khamaj piece, Kaun gali gayo shyam

• And this one is special because it is not just one but two great performers teaming up for this one Shobha Gurtu and Girija Devi ask- Najuk baiyan kyun marori Shaya

• Young and very talented Kaushiki Chakraborty , keeps the tradition alive for us even in the modern times with this personal favorite- kaahe karat mose

 Here's the YouTube playlist:

The gentlemen are up next :

• Starting with none other than  Bade Ghulam Ali Khan – Paniya bharan kaise jaaon 

• Ustad Faiyaz Khan - balam pardes na jaio, delightful to put it mildly

• Ab jao kadar nahi bolo , sings Ali Baksh Zahoor 

• And the same thumri sung by Bade Amanat Ali Kasuri, which I like even better

• Mehdi Hassan is singing a thumri and not a ghazal- Chanda re jaa re

• Ustad Amir Khan creates magic with Piya Ke Aavan ki na sunat khabariya

• Ajoy Chakraborty ‘s Koyaliya kook sunawe

• Barkat Ali Khan – Dekhe bina bechain

• Salmat Ali Khan of Sham Churasi gharana with son Sharafat Ali Khan sings -Nadiya kinare mora gaon…

And the YouTube playlist of the male singers :

The instrumental version of a Khamaj thumri with Pannalal Ghosh’s bansuri

There’s a long list of Khamaj songs in films. RD Burman for example used it for two songs in Amar prem.

But here is a gem, Bidhir Badhon written and composed by none other than Rabindranath Tagore and sung without any accompanying instruments by Kishore Kumar for Satayajit Ray’s Ghare Bare

And Salil da’s  O Sajna barkha bhaar aayi has been a favorite for as long as I can remember- this Bengali version makes it sound even sweeter…

And finally who would expect to find a beautiful Thumri in a film which is best remembered for its hero singlehandedly uprooting a hand pump with his bare hands

“Look”, he shouted, suddenly turning to us. “Have you seen a more exasperating and cunning Raag? I have spent fifty years trying to master it and still it eludes me! Today I was sure I would finally learn. But it smiles and goes away! It is a whore, whom all can love and enjoy and none possess! It is a gift of the Gods!"[1]

Khamaj, indeed is slippery- whenever I thought I was done writing about it, it would reveal one more beautiful form, another beautiful facet of it. So this post stretched on for a couple of months. And though I am ending this here, I think I will be starting to work on Khamaj-II right away!

___________

[1] Vasudev Murthy, The Tanpura

Darbari: The Royal Raaga

“A monumental raga, unmatched in Hindustani raga space for its gravitas, difficult in its swara-lagav, and profound for its emotional impact on the innocent and the illuminati alike.” 

– Rajan Parrikar

Kuch Ajab Khel Kartar ke- sings Shafqat Amanat Ali in this track from his album, Tabeer.  It is, according to him, his own interpretation of the age old Darbari bandish that has been passed on from generation to generation of the Patiala Gharana.

The original bandish is in fact said to have been one of the over 5000 bandishes that were passed on to the Patiala Gharana founders, Ali Baksh and Fateh Ali Khan by the great Ustad Tanras Khan of the Dilli Gharana- the very well known musician in the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal King. He is the one who is said to have polished the Khayal singing of the two cousins to such an extent that they became the most formidable names in the whole of Northern India at that point in time

( Read in more detail about Ali Baksh, Fateh Ali Khan and how the Patiala Gharana came into being in this article

Another very famous bandish in Darbari which is attributed to Ustad Tanras Khan is based on the very famous tarana by Amir Khusro called “Yaar-e Mann beya” - Sung here by Ustads Salamat and Nazakat Ali of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana. 

A popular version by the Mekaal Hassan band of Pakistan

The most stately and distinguished of the Raagas, Darbari is said to have been created by none other than Mian Tansen, the legendary musician at King Akbar’s court. A Raaga performed at late hours of night, belonging to the Asavari thaat of the Bhatkande system of classification, Darbari is considered a difficult Raga to master. It is considered a gambhir Raga.  

The majesty and somber nature of this raga mandates its singing in the mandr saptak or lower octaves and in a slow tempo or the vilambit laya. The swaras Ga, Dha and Ni are komal or flat. In fact it is believed that the Dha and Ga swaras are not just komal but ati komal in Darbari. Another striking feature of the Raga is the use of andolan - the oscillation or swinging of the komal Ga and Dha which adds to its beauty and this is demonstrated in this short clip that demonstrates the aaroh and avroh of the Raga

Raaga Darbari- Aaroh, Avroh

But coming back to the Patiala Gharana and Kuch Ajab Khel , here is the bandish in its classical form being rendered by Ustad Amanat Ali and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

Some More Darbari by the Patiala Gharana

First a short clip by Ustad Ashiq Ali- the son of Fateh Ali Khan one of the founders of the Patiala Gharana., who was “widely regarded as the ultimate statement of ‘tayyari’and ‘layakari’ by most of the vocalists of the Punjab region.” (read more about him here) http://www.sadarang.com/Ustad%20Ashiq%20Ali%20Khan%20-%20Saqib%20Razaq.htm

Next the very famous- Anokha Ladla, khelan ko maange chaand by Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who also happened to be Ustad Ashiq Ali’s disciple

A beautiful ghazal by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan

And this  superb rendition by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan 

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan along with Zahida Parveen in this Darbari composition for a film

And the very popular duo of Asad Amanat Ali and Hamid Ali sing a tarana in Darbari

An interesting anecdote related to the raga is about Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan- the great Sarod maestro and father of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Apparently when he was at Rashtrapati Bhavan to receive his Padma award, the then president, Dr.  Rajendra Prasad asked if there was anything he could do for him.  The only request the latter had was that the President do something to save the Raga Darbari as he felt that people were taking too many liberties while performing it and since it was a precious creation of Tansen, he wanted it to be preserved in its purest forms for generations to come. The President was at a loss of words, recalls Amjad Ali Khan, who had accompanied his father for the function, but promised to look into the matter. A triumphant Hafiz Khan returned home to declare to his wife that the President would now be taking steps to save the great Raga!

NoorJehan, who is fondly remembered as Mallika- e – Tarannum; the Queen of Melody, also owes this title to Darbari it seems. Here in this video she recalls how it was singing the song Bulbulo mat ro yahan, based on Darbari for the film Zeenat in 1944 that earned her the title that stayed with her throughout her life and even after.

Talking of Darbari in Hindi films, there are scores of songs composed in the Raga

One top of the mind song is O duniya ke rakhwaale from Baiju Bawara. And here is the beautiful rendition of the sargam of the Raga by Ustad Amir Khan from the movie

And if there is one artist who has brought out the beauty of this Raaga in various moods in  Bollywood music ever so beautifully through his songs it is Manna Dey

He brings out the beauty of the shringar rasa in this Shankar- Jaikishen composition

Bhakti/ Vairagya in this very beautiful one created by SM Tripathi.. Ud ja bhanvar Manna Dey, which is supposed to be classic demonstration of the -'ati komal andolit gandhar'- a hallmark of Darbari

And surprisingly the raaga known for its serious demeanor used so beautifully for comic / humorous mood in these two songs

Pyaar ki aag mein  by SD burman

Lapak Jhapak from Boot Polish, composer: Shankar- Jaikishen

The Darbari has been beautifully used by AR Rahman for a couple of his projects:

Acid Darbari , 127 hours

Raaga’s dance : This one was composed by ARR for Vanessa Mae’s  album Choreography

Passion from The Last temptation of Christ , composed by Peter Gabriel, has Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan rendering some heartfelt Darbari

And lastly Shafqat’s most recent Bollywood song, Ras ke bhare tore main based on Darbari for the movie Satyagraha, though perhaps not  quite as impactful as the other Darbari that he sung.

Kuch Ajab Khel Ke Katar ke, Shafqat says, is a kind of a complaint or a shiqwa to the Almighty for His ways which are seemingly unfair…  and it is the Raag Darbari that makes sure that this plaintive, disconsolate plea reaches right up to Him in the heavens

When Tradition Treads the Paths of Tomorrow...

“From our ancestors come our names, but from our virtues our honors”

In all his interviews Shafqat Amanat Ali is inevitably asked a question about the great musical legacy of the Patiala Gharana that he has inherited from his forefathers. And he takes a lot of pride-(and rightly so) in talking about the great musical tradition of the family, where every child born into the family is raised on a daily dose of musical intricacies and nuances.-Training so rigorous, that it builds not just their knowledge of music but even teaches them a thing or two about life itself.

“Learning classical singing is not a time bound process, it is life long- that’s what was drilled in right from the beginning by our elders,” says Shafqat Amanat Ali. “When you begin learning by keeping this in mind it gives you a lot of inner strength.”

The tradition of Gharanas- the different schools or styles- in the Hindustani classical music fascinates me. The concept of a guru passing on his wisdom to his students, who then carry forward the unique style and interpretation, and the specific techniques of rendition, is intriguing and very interesting.

The timeline of the Patiala Gharana boasts of many a great name and their glorious achievements. But if there is just one thing that could sum up this tradition of inheriting, preserving and passing on music, it has to be this video

Salman Amjad and Ali Amjad are Shafqat’s nephews, the sons of his eldest brother the late Amjad Amanat Ali, who himself was an accomplished classical vocalist. And here they sing the composition of their grandfather’s grandfather. It’s heartwarming to watch the young duo sing what was composed almost 200 years ago by someone who established the tradition which they grew on.

The Patiala Gharana founders were Ali Baksh and Fateh Ali Khan, formidable names in the singing circles of the North India in the nineteenth century. They were referred to as Aliya-Fattu. Such was the prowess of their voices, that they were awarded the respective titles of General and Colonel by Lord Elgan, Viceroy of India, in recognition of their contribution to music. So Aliya -Fattu are also commonly referred to as Jerneil and Kerneil… some even called them the Sur kaptan- the captains of sur.

Ali Baksh’s legacy was furthered by his own son and disciple, the very accomplished Ustad Akhtar Hussain. Whereas Fateh Ali’s son Ashiq Ali was guru to disciples who formed the Kasur branch of the Patiala Gharana that boasts of bigwigs like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

Akhtar Hussain enjoyed the patronage of Patiala’s King but had to shift to Pakistan after the partition in 1947. 

Recordings of Ustad Akhtar Hussain from Pakistan radio:

Desi Todi

Bihag

His sons Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali made a very successful musical debut in 1945. Fateh Ali remembers in an interview how he and his brother sang in a gathering of some of the most distinguished names and at the end of the recital he was bewildered when instead of congratulating the singers they all rushed to embrace and compliment their guru and father.

Young Amanat and Fateh Ali singing Raga Bihag : 

Shafqat, the youngest son of Ustad Amanat Ali started his training in music at the age of 4. His grandfather, Ustad Akhtar Hussain, formally began his training as it was tradition for the head of the family to introduce every child in the household to the music of the Gharana. Unfortunately both his grandfather and father could not live long enough to guide him in his musically journey. His chacha, Fateh Ali, therefore donned the mantle of his mentor as he was for the rest of the children in the family. In a household so full of potential stars Shafqat often felt that his own skills were sidelined and not encouraged as much. But music was his calling and he was determined to chart his own course in the territory on which his family had ruled for generations. Struggling over the years and often asked by his uncle and elder brother to take up another profession, Shafqat found his calling in fusing the age old musical wisdom that he had inherited from his forefathers with the sounds and beats and arrangements which came from the west.

Shafqat maintains that he is not the first to take a slightly different course from the traditional path. “Classical music too has various forms… one of the earliest forms is Dhrupad which is still there but relatively rare now. After that Khayal gayaki took the front seat and Khayal was what our Gharana started with mainly and made a name with. Thumri followed and was again sung by us, then Ghazal was popularized by my father and brother Asad, who also experimented with pop.”

Shafqat is right when he says he is not the first one to travel down a different path. Even if we talk of fusion, he wasn’t the first in the family to do it. Ustad Fateh Ali Khan’s collaboration Ragas and Sagas with the Norwegian Jazz saxophonist, Jan Gaberek was hailed as perfect blend of the east and the west.

Even singing for films is not a first by Shafqat. His father Ustad Amanat Ali has done playback and Asad Amanat Ali also sang for many Pakistani films in the 80’s. Many might not know that he has even lent his voice for a Bollywood song.

Shafqat might have taken a slightly different route than the usual but his commitment to carry forward  his inheritance of the musical wealth is very evident in his own music. He has understood that changing times require changing strategies. Audiences in general today do not have the time or patience to sit through mehfils and respond much better to live stage concerts, for example. So he cleverly has packaged some of the gems of his elders and presented them to the music lovers in a new form.

Let’s take his Khamaj for instance, one of his most popular songs till date and my absolute favorite. This is adapted from a traditional thumri ,also sung by his father, and uncle. Shafqat just took it and in his own words “made it more contemporary”. He added more words to give it the shape of a song and whether he did justice to this gem is for everyone to see, or rather hear.

His Kartar in Darbari is another one that is inspired by an old Patiala Gharana asthai, sung earlier by Ustad Amanat and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan. “I wanted people to hear it from my perspective,” says Shafqat. So the scintillating orchestra  arrangement is Shafqat’s addition and tribute to this beautiful piece!

“Pyaar nahi hai sur se jisko”- a beautiful composition by Shafqat’s father is like a gentle reprimand and more than that an invitation to people who haven’t realized the importance of music . Sung by many members of the family, this song gets a modern feel with Shafqat’s version for Fuzon, before the band broke up.

Shafqat's classical rendition

And the Fuzon version

“One who walks in another's tracks leaves no footprints”

Charting a new path, like Shafqat has done, in the world of music is always fraught with risks. On the one hand you have the purists, who will always examine the work under a microscope, and on the other, are the average masses who generally have low tolerance level for something that is too intricate and difficult to understand- A double edged sword if you will; or a tight-rope walk where balance is the key. So far Shafqat Amanat Ali has done well in maintaining that balance. The double-edged sword has enabled him to carve a special niche for himself , which allows him to stay true to the tradition of which he is a torchbearer, and also showcase his versatility. He currently is in a position where he has competently covered everything from (Raga) Eeman to (Playback for) Emraan Hashmi

“I believe in adapting to the changing times but without forgetting my roots and the roots still are and will always be in the classical music. Those roots are my identity and I cannot be separate from my identity," he says.

As his fan I look forward to a possibility of Shafqat considering a pure classical album at some stage in his career. But at the same time I remain equally excited about his forthcoming album and his future Bollywood numbers which will showcase his own ingenuity that was nurtured by the age-old tradition of the Patiala Gharana. 

Roots and Wings

 “I had an inheritance from my father,

It was the moon and the sun.

And though I roam all over the world,

The spending of it’s never done.”

― Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Shafqat Amanat Ali hails from an illustrious musical family and is infact the seventh generation performer, who carries forward the tradition of the Patiala Gharana that was founded by his great grandfather Ali Baksh.

Imagine growing up in a household where music is a way of life and comes as natural as breathing … (Shafqat recalls his first lessons of music from his grandmother, here) Having lost his father, Amanat Ali Khan at a relatively tender age of 9, his musical training came from his uncle, Fateh Ali Khan

Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali performing together

Fateh Ali Khan talks about his Gharana and Gayaki

“Every child born in the family had to compulsorily train in music for 10-12 years and though no one was forced to take up music as a career, at the end of the rigorous grinding they all just wanted to be musicians”- says Shafqat. 

According to him, his elder brother’s sons Amjad Amanat Ali’s sons Salman Amjad and Ali Amjad are ready to enter the industry whereas Sikander Asad (brother,Asad Amanat Ali’s son) is also waiting for the right time to surprise everyone. “Even my own 15-year-old son Saadat Ali Bakhs is getting formally trained from the gharana”( Read the interview)

Someone has said, “The songs of our ancestors are also the songs of our children” – and this is so true for the great tradition that Shafqat today represents.Here’s hoping that many generations of this family will continue to enthrall the music lovers worldwide!